Asura dug his fingers into the stone pillar beside him, struggling to drag himself to a standing position. The muscles in his body spasmed, making it difficult to recover. The leftover electricity within his body, partnered with the pain of being struck, was an unexpected combo Asura hadn't experienced since long ago.

"Man, that hurt. You a dragon or something?"

A smirk spread across Lydia's face,

"Nah, no dragons here."

The ogre propped his back against the pillar, trying to catch his breath. However, the priests seemed unwilling to indulge in further conversations as they interrupted Asura's plea,

"Look, guys. I know-"

Asura fell to the floor and watched as the wrecking ball slammed into the pillar where his head was a second ago, barely missing the top of his head. The ball's weight crushed the side of the pillar, causing it to sink into the side of the stone.

"I thought for sure that would hit..."

"I guess you have gotten rusty Rose. After this, let's get a few more training rounds to polish your skills a little."

Asura whipped his head towards Rose as she tried to yank the ball free. As it popped out from the cove that it created, Asura caught it, gripping it with all four arms. The unexpected action widened Rose's eyes. She tried to tug and yank the chain free, but the ogre's strength prevailed, and she was unable to free her weapon. With two of his arms, Asura clutched the chain, and in one strong pull, he sent Rose towards him. Rose cried out as she tumbled across the marble floor,

"Lydia, a little help?"

Suddenly, the wrecking ball transformed into ink and sank back onto the floor. Asura's grip on the weapon vanished as the ink seeped through his fingertips.

"Fuck it."

Asura dashed forward and entered a full sprint towards Lydia, who stood confidently and prepared for their fight. Her eyes narrowed with excitement as he approached her. The fighter raised her fists close to her face, swinging slightly left and right as if she were warming up.

Now, a few feet away from her, Asura was ready to strike but stopped when the two metal dogs returned. Far behind the two dogs sat the young man on the stairs, enjoying the safety of distance. The boy called out,

"I'll support you, Lydia."

Before the dogs could reach Asura, he punched the closest one as it leaped through the air at his throat. The fist collided with its metal jaw, crushing it from the force of the blow. Its metal body soared towards Lydia, disrupting her vision of the ogre for a brief moment.

However, prepared and ready for anything, she swiftly ducked underneath and sprinted towards her attacker. The dog tumbled across the floor, skidding and smacking against the marble floor. If the dog were real, Asura could only imagine it would've been in great pain, rendering it unable to move after such a blow. However, the metal construct seemed to repair swiftly as a monster would.

Keeping her eyes on her target, Lydia watched as the ogre grabbed the other metal dog with his four arms as it thrashed around in his grasp. With one swift motion, Asura tossed the dog towards Lydia. He expected it to create a slight opening in her guard, but as he closed the distance between them, he realized he was greatly mistaken.

In Lydia's eyes, there were no signs of hesitation as she simply spear-kicked the dog. Surprised by her lack of emotion for the companion Asura was unprepared as she immediately hit him with a coordinated left-right hook that connected with his face. The blows stunned Asura, each one feeling as if a truck had struck him. Although the old man's punch had more explosive force, it wasn't nearly as painful as these solid blows precisely landed against his body.

Without missing a beat, she followed up with a punch to the middle of his stomach, making the ogre gasp for air. Then, bringing her knee up to strike him again in the abdomen, she prepared to land another solid blow.

However, Asura caught her knee with his arms, catching her off guard. He grabbed hold of her leg with two arms, gripping it tightly as if he would never let go. With his other two arms, Asura began to pummel her with a flurry of blows. The unexpected attack became difficult to hold off.

"Alright, I have been hit enough. My turn."

The position left Lydia unable to balance herself, leaving her at a disadvantage in the fight. Lydia cursed under her breath at her lack of experience and poor thinking. She hadn't fought an opponent with four arms before, which created a mountain of obstacles to overcome in hand-to-hand combat. "Rookie mistake to think two hands can beat four."

She managed to block the first two strikes, but the third caught her defenseless as it slammed into the right side of her chest.

"Oomhp."

Her body jerked left from the force, but Asura did not let go. Instead, he managed to throw her backward onto her back, giving him the advantage to strike down at her with his four arms. She prepared herself for the worst as Asura stood above her, but right before he could throw a punch down at her, the wrecking ball soared through the air toward his chest. Rose expected the attack to free Lydia, but to her surprise, Asura casually swatted the weapon away with his top right hand as if it were merely an annoyance.

"Nice tr-"

Asura could not finish his remark before the ball emerged from his left with the same momentum as before. The ball shot in a diagonal line towards his chin, and with no time to react, Asura watched as it struck his jaw, sending him backward off Lydia. His back slammed against the ground, causing an intense wave of pain to consume his body. Asura groaned as he uttered another comment,

"Can't you just let me get the final word?"

The ogre stared at the ceiling and was met with a wonderful surprise. A golden portal opened in the sky above. His personal experience taught him what came next. Asura rolled to the side as a giant fist exploded out of the front and down at his position. The fist slammed into the ground, sending tremors through the building.

Asura tried to gather his thoughts and recover, but the three left him with no time as they attacked in unison. The dogs returned to their unwounded states, pouncing on him from behind. Asura found they were rather eager to get at his vital parts for metal constructs as if they felt rage and hatred against the ogre for what he did to them.

Snarling and snapping, the two bit at his throat as they continuously clawed his skin. Asura did not know if it was from sweat or some other bodily fluid, but water began to pool near his feet... "Wait, water..." Asura looked down to find black liquid surrounding him.

"Shit."

Asura leaped into the air towards the stairs, seconds before electricity spread through the water at insane speed. His feet struck the ground, barely on the outskirts of the massive black lake created across the floor. With the jump's momentum, Asura carried himself forward, entering another sprint.

"I guess I'll take out the support first to win this. You must be the battery, right?"

The boy's mouth dropped in horror as Asura ran up the steps in his direction. Asura made sure his steps were silent as he ran up the stairs, which made the reaction perplexing to the ogre. The boy obviously could see him somehow, but he was blindfolded.

"How can you see me and command those dogs huh?"

The boy tried to open a portal, opening his mouth for the incantation.

"Come forth-"

Lydia called out,

"Watch out, Kane!"

The boy tried to find the source of Lydia's warning but found only the monster's presence nearby. An unfortunate surprise struck his forehead, sending him tumbling to the side.

"Couldn't see the rock now, could you?"

Blood poured from the wound, but Kane knew he couldn't waste any time. He tried to open his mouth, but Asura jumped at him before he could open it to continue the incantation. The ogre grabbed hold of his body with all four arms as he tackled Kane. As he tumbled across the ground, dragging the kid with him, Asura managed to slide his arms around his head, creating a headlock. Asura laughed as he pinned Kane's head.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"This is a fun fight, but I'm a little busy. If Mel finds I am slacking off, I will get punched again. Can we just end this here for now?"

The two women's faces twisted from confusion at the mention of Mel's name. The two women slowed their pace as they ran toward Kane to free him.

"Mel? You know Mel?"

"Yeah, I know her. She came with me, Wain, and Ash, but I ended up alone. Is this the main cathedral? Was it in Soiledgate or something?"

Rose was the first to speak up with her monotone voice,

"Did Mel get a plaything now?"

The thought of being a toy for Mel enraged Asura, making him shout,

"Oi, I ain't nobody's plaything! Especially not for her. Disgusting."

Suddenly, the two large doors on the right side of the stairs shot open as Mel barged into the room. A furious look plagued her face as she violently whipped her head around as if searching for someone. Asura's heart stopped as her eyes locked with his.

"Shit."

Asura immediately released Kane from the headlock. The ogre pushed the boy to the side onto the stairs, acting as if nothing happened. He knew he had been caught, but Asura jumped up from the ground and walked away as if nothing happened. Whistling and avoiding her gaze, he folded his hands behind his head and studied the walls.

"Hm, what great architecture."

Asura stared at the golden statues, doing his best to avoid Mel's furious gaze. Panting and gasping for air, Kane held his throat as he tried to recover from the constriction. Asura nudged Kane with his foot, trying to get him to stop like a child would when they hurt their sibling.

"Quit... quit it. I am going to get in trouble."

Mel's face twisted in horror upon seeing the destruction littering the room. Everywhere she looked, evidence was found of Asura's crimes. A dented golden statue, cracked pillars, and portions of the ground were caved in. Around her feet, a large pool of water covered about a quarter of the floor. It splashed as she walked across the room, and her aggressive steps made it evident to Asura that he would regret everything once she opened her mouth. Asura could only prepare himself for the worst lecture of his life.

"As much as I want to see Asura get beaten to a pulp, I sadly need him. Thanks for finding him, but can I have him back now? So I can beat the living shit out of him myself!"

Rose walked towards the door and pulled the chain back to her without a word. Suddenly the chains wrapped around her arms, dissolving into the black ink Asura had seen before. The ink soaked into her flesh, creating a tattoo that spread across her arms and wrapped around her biceps. Then came the wrecking ball, which slammed into her palm and exploded into black sludge covering her entire hand. Asura watched as all of the ink soaked into her skin. Not a single drop touched the floor.

The first to respond to Mel was Lydia, who replied,

"I don't mind. We were having a bit of fun with a warmup match. Why are you here, though? Didn't we send a team to you? Mary will lecture you if she finds out you're slacking off again."

Annoyed by the comment, Mel replied,

"We were ordered to come here. Jormungandr is being summoned here, not at our place. We screwed up with the call for help."

Throwing a thumb up in Asura's direction, Lydia asked Mel,

"What is up with the four-armed demon then?"

Mel rested her hands on her hips,

"He's a part of it. A cultist by the name of Malachi is trying to summon Jormungandr, the Apocalypse. In doing so, somehow, this idiot was brought here, and for some reason, the old man thinks he is useful."

Lydia scratched her head as she processed the information before replying,

"There has been an abnormal increase in demonic activities around here lately. However, an Apocalypse has not been seen in years. Are you sure this is reliable?"

"I mean, you're staring at something never seen before? A monster is in a cathedral. An ogre too. We haven't seen one of them, in what? A hundred years?"

Lydia studied Asura for a moment, declaring,

"Rose, you and Kane go out and search the city with a few high priests. Make sure there isn't anything new going on we haven't noticed."

Rose walked out of the room without saying a word. Kane, on the other hand, spoke up as he passed Asura,

"I apologize for attacking you without questioning you first. It's unusual for a monster to be in the cathedral, so I hope you understand. I was trying to defend Rose..."

Asura smiled in response.

"It's fine. I had a hell of a time anyway."

Without warning, Lydia threw her arm around Asura and patted him on the shoulder. A wide grin spread across her face as she asked,

"So, where'd you find this fun guy?"

"He walked into the cathedral after saving the kids. Like I said, the captain took him in, and now I have to babysit him."

Angrily, Asura shook his fist at Mel while shouting,

"I'm the one who got us here with Wain. I could be appreciated a little more, jerk."

Lydia laughed at the bickering between the two. They were like siblings fighting over nothing.

"I think the captain did great. He's a great fighter, strong enough to take on two high-ranking Paladins and a lower-ranking one. He doesn't even have a scratch on him. What's your name demon?"

Lydia squatted down and examined the ogre's body. She grabbed his arm and lifted it high to get a better look at his unwounded body. After taking blow after blow, she expected to find any evidence of the fight upon his body but found not even a scratch. Lydia raised her hand to poke his skin and found it to be soft and flexible, like human skin.

"Do you get wounded internally? Like bleeding from the inside?"

"Uh... sometimes, but not most of the time."

Asura became embarrassed as he felt her breath against his skin due to her proximity,

"Fascinating. I have never seen a demon so durable."

"My name's Asura. I am great, aren't I? Someone finally appreciates my greatness."

Mel slapped her forehead at Asura's middle school flirting with Lydia and let out a groan,

"Don't feed his ego... Whatever, we don't have time for this. We need to figure out where the summoning is happening. Lydia, do you have any clue where they could summon Jormungandr to destroy the city? Is it a central point or something? A mall?"

"I don't know. However, to summon an Apocalypse, they will need a certain amount of demonic mana, which we have never seen before. To summon most centurion-rank monsters, the blood required produces so much mana that it's easily trackable. If they are in the city, then we should've detected any gathering by now."

A happy Asura quickly asked,

"What if we split up to search the city? I'll go with the lighting lady. Mel can take Wain and Ash. Three teams searching the city? Great idea, honestly, if I do say so myself. Three teams to cover ground."

Mel rolled her eyes at Asura and tried to open her mouth. However, Lydia cut her off before any words could be uttered,

"That's a great idea. I'll watch this guy, and we can search for any demonic activity."

Mel thought about arguing about the fact that it was a terrible idea and that Asura would most likely cause trouble, but Lydia was a much higher rank than her. Lydia is a sixth-ranked Paladin, only one tier underneath the candidates for Arch Knights, while Mel is simply a fourth-ranked Paladin, making Lydia her superior. When the Arch Knight wasn't present, Lydia's commands were the law. "Maybe if I leave the two alone, Lydia will strangle him to death..." Mel replied with a deep sigh,

"Okay, but watch him carefully. He's slippery and annoying. Turn your back for a second, and he will be doing something moronic."

The ogre ignored her comments and insults, finding the thought exciting. Asura threw his four arms in the air to celebrate,

"More fights!"

Lydia smiled at the ogre's enthusiasm.

"I will, Mel. Don't worry. Good luck with your search, and may Judex Divinum protect you."

"Thanks, Lydia, you too."

Mel walked out of the room to look for Wain and Ash, who were still searching for Asura in the rest of the cathedral. Lydia turned to Asura with a smile on her face as Mel walked out of the room.

"Time to get to work then, partner."

"I am so ready for a fight!"

"Next time, don't hold back."

"Hold back?"

"You were holding your punches back in that fight. You can't lie to me. I want a real match."

Lydia's eyes narrowed and began to glow as if she were angry at the thought of being spared in a fight. Her ferocious look resembled that of a tiger ready to eat its target once it turned its back on it.

"You're perfect..."

Asura smiled at Lydia's pride. His heart began to race.

The two headed towards a pair of abnormally large bronze doors as they walked on the red carpet that led from the stairs to the doors. Asura didn't realize how massive the doors were in the hall until they stood a few feet away. He knew he was smaller than most things, but the presence of even the doors in the cathedral made him feel short after straining his head to see the top of the bronze doors.

Decorating the center of the doors on both sides were large trees made from black metal. The trees were intricate, with roots and branches stretching far out across the surface. Even though the leaves were so detailed, Asura could count them individually if he had the time. "Whoever forged such work was highly skilled in their craft." Asura thought as he took in the craftsmanship.

Lydia pushed the two doors open, revealing the outside world. Expecting them to open slowly due to their size, Asura was shocked as they swung swiftly to the sides. The blinding city lights and bustling noise of the people walking around poured into the building.

"Damn, that hall was just the entrance? You all really are bougie around here."

Lydia laughed and let out a hearty, joyful noise.

"Hahahaha. Yeah, Mary does like the flashiness aspect of The Temple."

"Wow, this sight is incredible..."